Mama Vee snapped her fingers, the sign for my brothers to get their butts in gear. They hauled out lawn chairs from the rigs and set them up in a circle for those of us that Mama Vee indicated, then melted back into the background to play with the little ones and keep an eye on things.

All of Brick’s friends seemed to be a bit gun-shy about taking a seat, but as soon as Cory sat down with a resigned smile, the rest reluctantly sat as well.

The big guys sat precariously in Mama’s worn woven canvas and aluminum seats, but the omegas in our group seemed to trust them to hold their weight just fine. Well, except for the healer—he was as large as the alphas, just a bit shorter.

Mama motioned for Pappy to come sit beside her, then nodded to me, where I sat next to Brick. She may have been an uninvited guest, but Mama Vee was definitely running the show.

“All right, now, Natty boy, start at the beginnin’. It was Thanksgivin’, and you were on yer way home from that silly job at the Arco. What happened, baby? Tell yer mama.”

Brick reached out and caught my hand, silently giving me strength. “Um, okay… so, I had some weird customers come in right before shift end, and they were loitering, not really buying anything, while one guy out at the pumps filled the tank on their big van. I didn’t worry too much, since it was a church van, you know?”

“Shit. Church van don’t mean nuthin’. What church, Natty baby? My hackles is already raisin’. Did they snatch ya?”

I nodded. “I clocked out and slipped out the back door, but the van was there, waiting. Two big men grabbed me and pulled me into the van before I could scream. It was too fast for me to shift, plus they were humans and I was in public. Then we were in the van, where it was too small to shift without possibly hurting myself, you know?”

I shuddered as I remembered the terror. “I was tied up and tossed into the back corner while they rambled about crazy shit. They were talking about how I was a demon, and the Earth needed to be purified from my soulless kind.”

Brick’s hand tightened around mine. Mama asked again, “What church, baby?”

“The Paragons of Purity,” I whispered. “I don’t really want to think about them anymore. It’s over now, and that’s all that matters.”

“No, that’s ain’t all that matters. They need to pay for their sins, Natty baby. What happened next? Take yer time, but tell us everythin’. Ya need ta git it off yer chest, and we need ta know wut we’re dealin’ with. Now, g’on.”

I sighed, looking down at the grass. I counted thirteen tiny green blades beside my shoe before I found the strength to speak again.

“They drove me cross-country, all the way from our home in Tennessee to their big church in Salt Lake City, Utah. You know, that big white cathedral we see on TV? That one. It took two days, because they stopped along the way to pick up more people from their group. They didn’t let me eat or drink at first, because they said demons didn’t need to be fed.”

“Did they hurt ya? Touch ya? Tell me, baby.” Mama was in full-on protective mode—there was not going to be any dancing around this one.

“They beat me until I passed out the first day. The second day, I was too weak to be a fun target, so they gave me some food and ranted to me about how we evil demons weren’t going to be allowed to take over their world. I wasn’t the first, and I wouldn’t be the last. When we finally got to Utah, I was carried in through a back door of that big cathedral and transported down two levels to a deep, underground basement. They threw me into a cement-lined room and put a metal collar on me to keep me from shifting. It’s like they knew how to keep me from protecting myself.”

Brick made a growling noise and yanked me over onto his lap. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I need to know he’s safe while I hear this; it’s… not easy for me to know these things.”

Mama smiled indulgently at Brick. “That’s alright, baby. You don’t never gotta apologize fer lovin’ my Natty boy.” She turned her attention back to me. “Go on, finish yer tale. Let’s get this all out, honey.”

“Okay. So, the room… it was a cement cube. I mean, the walls, floor, ceiling—all cement. There was a hard slab that stuck out in one corner for a bed, with a bucket there for relieving myself, and a table with two bench seats, all anchored to the floor. The fluorescent light in the ceiling was always on, so I had no way to judge time or ever really rest, not that I could on a cement slab with no pillow or blanket.”

I stopped and shook my head, drawing in a rattling breath to steady myself before I went on.

“A guy finally came in after what felt like a year, but who knows… it could’ve been a few hours? Days? He spoke in a mechanical voice, like he was using an adapter to disguise himself for whatever reason, and he wore a long dark robe with a deep hood that hung over his face. Two other men were with him. They held me down while he pulled out a big-ass metal spike from a hidden pocket within his robe. He told me that he would be implanting it in my head, and it would sever me from any form of psychic links—that nobody would ever be able to track me, because it would be like I was dead.”

Mama bared her teeth and shook her head. “I knew I should’a followed yer trail sooner! That’s on me. I thought ya was pissed at the boys fer breakin’ yer cell phone that mornin’, and decided to take a long walk. I gave ya a day or two ta calm down before I started lookin’. On the second day, we loaded up and went after ya when ya got too far from us. I’d just started to track ya goin’ west, and we had the caravan on yer trail, when ya blinked out.”

She stopped and held a hand to her heart, tears rolling down her face. “Lawd, child, I thought ya was gone, and I’d never see yer perty li’l face again. Ask yer pappy here, I was inconsolable for these past eight months. We dint have no Christmas… nuthin’.”

Pappy Ernest, normally one to avoid speaking unless he had to discipline one of the kids, reached out for Mama’s hand as he spoke up in his raspy voice.

“We spent these last long months lookin’ fer yer body, son. Yer mama wasn’t never gonna rest ‘til we found ya and laid ya ta rest. She needed answers and someone ta kill fer takin’ her baby. But ya know yer mama, she was hardest on herself.”

I pulled free of Brick’s arms and rushed over to Mama. I knelt in front of her and wrapped my arms around her small frame, hugging her tight.

“I’m here now, Mama. I’m sorry you had to suffer like that.”

“Are ya shittin’ me, boy? Me? Suffer? Yer the one what was held captive by them religious nutjobs who was callin’ yer ass a demon.” Mama hugged me tight, rocking me from side to side as she spoke.

“That’s just it, though—I didn’t suffer. After that man told me that about severing my psychic link, he told me that all the demons would die, including their king—the devil himself—some man named Coryphaeus. Then he plunged that spike into my temple, and I don’t remember another thing until I woke up here. It was like I ceased to exist.”

Mama planted a kiss into the curls on top of my head and gave me a gentle push. “Alright, now. Go on back ta yer man. He needs to cuddle ya before he bends the arms of my chair straight off, and I need ta go clean my guns. I got some skeet shootin’ ta do over there in Utah. I’m gonna send them bastards ta glory. Let them go meet their maker and try ta sell the man upstairs on why wat they been doin’ is right.”

I rose and turned back to see that Brick did indeed have a white-knuckled, iron grip on the arms of Mama’s chair. I went right back to his lap, resting my cheek against his chest while Cory began to speak.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to wait for revenge just yet. Allow me to explain, if you will? When we were introduced, you were given my modern name—Cory. But my full name is Coryphaeus, the one that was mentioned, unfortunately. Based off Nate’s description, I believe the church is being used as a pawn in a game by a nemesis of mine. He was my trusted adviser for many years when I was the Crown Prince of Novis, the country of my birth. We fled Novis at my father’s insistence during a great war while my kingdom was in flames. My father wanted me to protect our line and go to safety with my trusted men. But when we arrived here, Orris attacked us, and through Brick’s ability to manipulate nature, he drew from the stone in the cavern we were in at the time to protect our severely weakened bodies while our healing stasis took hold. Unfortunately, our injuries were grave, and we were all frozen like statues for thousands and thousands of years.”

“What the actual fuck? Damn, baby boy! That’s amazin’! So my baby don’t just got an older man, he’s got hisself a prehistoric-type man? Damn. How did y’all wake up?” Mama was well versed in unicorn history and didn’t even flinch at Cory’s story.

“I woke him through the sound of my heartsong,” Emery said with a happy smile, glancing Cory’s way with total adoration. “Then Sam woke Blaze and the others, but Orris had awakened on his own and disappeared. We didn’t know until recently that he was the one who’d attacked Cory and the rest of the group. They’ve been looking for him—we were all concerned for his safety in the modern world. After we rescued your son, Sana and Peter there,” Emery paused and gestured to the healer and his mate, “they went back to destroy the place, and that’s when they discovered Orris’ treachery.”

“Aw, hell. Damnation. That means y’all got first dibs on takin’ his ass out. Just tell me this, King Cory, what can we do ta help? Me ‘n my clan will be involved, jus so ya know.”

Before any of us answered, the sound of a horn blasted—behind the line of RVs, a van pulled up and parked. Before anyone could react, several of my brothers were over there helping two women from the van, babies clutched to their chests, and their eyes bright.

My brothers wasted no time in taking the little ones from them and gently bouncing them in the air. I bit back a grin at the inhaled breaths from the group around me, but Mama didn’t miss it.

“Don’t worry none. I’m guessin’ them’s yer youngins? My boys is good with little ones, trust me on that.”

The healer, Sana, checked a baby monitor he had clipped to his belt, then breathed a sigh of relief. His own child must be sleeping inside, too young to have been with the others. I pushed the thought aside for now, I’d get to know this group soon enough… along with all the precious babies.

Sam and Emery abandoned their seats and rushed forward when one of my brothers stripped naked right there in front of everyone and shifted into a beautiful white unicorn with a golden horn.

I watched as a toddler girl was lowered onto the unicorn back by another brother, while the two women took pictures with their cell phones. Blaze, my mate’s warrior friend, muttered under his breath about stench and the princess, but I had no idea what he was talking about. Sana was the last to leave, silently gliding over to where the rest of the group was gathered.

Cory spoke in a strangled voice. “So… shall we table this for now, until Sam can do some reconnaissance on his computers about the church you’ve mentioned? We will need an effective plan to best Orris. He is a worthy, if evil, adversary. His skills at playing a long game are unmatched, as evidenced by the fact that we’re sitting here with you rather than long dead with the rest of our people.”

“Good plan, Cory. You might wanna get over there, now that we’ve got what we’re doing hammered out. Your man is taking pictures of Princess Cora on that unicorn, and I need to get to Sam before he starts measuring things…” Blaze was grumbling now, and I looked over to see Sam standing beside my brother, observing him with a fascinated expression. He stretched his neck upward to look closer at his golden horn.

Brick sighed as I stood and followed the others over to my brother. He rose when I did, keeping a firm arm around my shoulders, as if needing to hold me close.

Mama came up beside us, walking on the other side of me with Pappy trailing behind. He’d paused to light his cigarette.

I heard Sam clearly, just as I heard the rest of them—he was rambling about some saint named Anley, and how she would be so happy to meet my unicorn family. He turned to Mama as we approached.

“Excuse me, ma’am. I know you probably keep your existence secret, but could I tell my friend about you, please? She runs a unicorn group. Maybe you’ve heard of them… they call themselves Cornies?”

“Oh, yeah. We’ve heard tell of ‘em. We just don’t need no fangirls hanging about. Horn chasers are a real problem fer my boys. People think that horn size relates ta other things, if ya get my drift. It’s a sad thing, ta be honest. What man could ever be hung that big?”

Blaze and Brick snorted, but didn’t comment. I wondered what they were thinking, but didn’t focus on it for long. Sam had launched himself into a story about how this saint person had helped them when my dragon had attacked them, and I was too fascinated not to listen. Apparently, they’d had to take my dragon down without hurting me in the middle of a unicorn lovers’ festival.

What the hell? The idea that I’d been doing things like that while in zombie mode was horrifying at best. Thank goodness they’d realized that I wasn’t to blame. It was terrifying to think how easily things could’ve gone the other way. Like, what if I’d been rescued only to be killed for behavior outside of my control?

I shuddered, and Brick leaned over to kiss my temple. “Don’t think about the could’ve been, angel boy. Focus on the here and now, trust me. It’s the only way to stay sane.”

Mama let out a cry when she heard about my unconscious, naked body being given clothes by the saint lady so these guys could bring me here to safety. She ran forward and flung her arms around a startled and obviously uncomfortable Sam.

“Um… uh… okay. I guess we’re hugging now,” he mumbled as he patted her back woodenly.

“Oh, hush! You boys all need more lovin’. Good thing fer y’all, Mama Vee’s got a heart full of it. Now listen, y’all go on and get yer friend on out here. I’d be proud ta meet a horn chaser, if’n she went out of her way like that ta help my Natty boy outta the kindness of her own heart.” Mama gave him one more squeeze, then turned her attention back to me and Brick.

“Now, all this talk of lovin’ is makin’ me think. I get that y’all did that dragonny matin’ bitin’ thing, but I’m gonna need more. Y’all should know better, Natty boy! What’s wrong with ya, boy? Ya think yer mama ain’t smellin’ that there bun ya got cookin’ in yer little oven?”

Brick froze and looked down at me, a smile of delighted awe slowly spreading over his face. “Are you saying that you can smell a pregnancy in my angel boy, Mama Vee?”

I blushed hotly while every head in the vicinity turned to stare at me. Mama put both hands on her hips and nodded at Brick with a raised brow.

“That’s exactly what I’m sayin’. We unicorns always smell it within hours of conception. Less, if’n it’s twins, just cuz. Now, what are yer plans fer my boy, and when are y’all gettin’ hitched?”

Brick’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Hitched? We… aren’t horses, unicorns, or even pegasi… how would we become hitched?”

Mama brayed with laughter while Blaze grinned and explained, “People nowadays do the handfastings that people did back in our time, but they call it marriage, and getting hitched is a colloquialism for it.”

“Oh! You want me to handfast with Nathan! Absolutely, ma’am. He’s mine forever; I’ll do any ceremony your clan requires of me to prove my intentions.” Brick leaned over and nuzzled my curls before kissing my temple gently.

“Well, alright then.” Mama gave a nod of satisfaction and looked around the group while she rubbed her hands together. “Mama’s got a weddin’ ta plan.”

I cleared my throat and jutted my chin out as I spoke with false bravado. “Uh, Mama? Shouldn’t Brick and I be the ones to plan our ceremony? I would incorporate our family traditions, of course… but, it’s our day, after all.”

Mama shook her head and looked over at Pappy. “Ernest! Didja hear this fool boy? Like his mama ain’t gonna have her hand in everythin’ for her little boy’s big day? Now, put that damned cancer stick out! There’s youngins about. What’s wrong wit ya? Damn fool, man…”

Pappy obediently pinched the tip of his cigarette, then stepped on the fallen cherry before tucking the unsmoked part back into his shirt pocket. “Listen ta yer mama, boy. It’s just easier that way, remember?”